


Every night, I dream of you (with you)

by UpInOrbit



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: 4 + 1 things, Attempt at Humor, Dreams, Fluff, Getting Together, In a way, Kinda, M/M, Magical Realism, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, They're soft but awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28285479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UpInOrbit/pseuds/UpInOrbit
Summary: A dreamwalker is a person with the ability to enter someone else's dream and make sure everything is alright.Mingyu had never once encountered any before and he thought they were an urban myth, until a mysterious boy walks into his nightmare complaining about the lack of sleep he's been getting because of Mingyu. Now, that's strange, but he surely won't be seeing him again, right?Alternatively, the 4 times Mingyu dreams of Minghao, and the 1 time they finally get to meet in person.
Relationships: Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 6
Kudos: 55
Collections: Ho(gu) Ho(gu)!





	Every night, I dream of you (with you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cherrycitrus_blossom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrycitrus_blossom/gifts).



> To Kath!!
> 
> MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND!!!!!! It feels unreal that after six months this fic is finally here (we're such a disaster for finishing this in the last few hours before posting, but it wouldn't be us if it didn't happen, I guess), but this fic is finally here! I loved the prompt and I hope I did it justice (even if I'm pretty sure I didn't tick off all of the boxes in your form)! I'm pretty sure when you asked for a slow burn you were thinking of a 5k getting together fic and not this 12k monstrosity but *jazz hands* surpriiiise  
> I really, really hope this is somewhat what you had in mind and/or expected (I did change a little bit the prompt, but I hope it was okay), and I hope you'll enjoy it!! Merry Christmas Kath, it's a joy to be your friend and it's been a pleasure to be your ss, I love youuuuu  
> Merry Christmas guys!!

Staring at the blank page in front of him, Mingyu felt himself starting to sweat. Around him, students just like himself were hunched over their desks, frantically writing in their responses, the only thing to be heard the scraping of pens on paper.

Mingyu turned his head back to his own exam sheet, but once again, all the knowledge he had in his head suddenly disappeared, like water slipping through his fingers. To make things worse, the exam questions started to shake in front of his eyes, moving so much it was difficult to read anything.

“Ten minutes left!” A booming voice said from somewhere to his right.

The sudden announcement made him jump in his seat, head jerking up in panic. His knee bumped against the bottom of the table, and that sent his pens and pencil flying to the ground. They scattered all over the place, and Mingyu threw himself after them, desperate to finish his exam.

His body colliding with the floor made a loud noise, and every head in the room turned to stare at him directly. Dozens of eyes bore into him, their annoyance and anger almost palpable, and around him the voice started to rise in volume, cursing him for dooming the rest of the class for failure with how careless he had been.

Mingyu tried to apologize and pick up his things, but his throat was dry, not a sound coming from his mouth, and his fingers seemed to be almost frozen, moving more clumsily than usual, and unable to pick up a single pen without dropping it immediately after that.

The whispers slowly started to increase, turning into a looming wave that grew and grew, threatening to crash against him, and Mingyu whimpered, hiding his face behind his hands, and waiting for the unavoidable burst of the damn that would sweep him under.

“This is the fourth time you've had this dream this week, and it’s only Wednesday.”

Mingyu froze and slowly lifted his head, his eyes widening as he realized there was no one left in the classroom, the murmured curses and thinly veiled accusations disappearing with the rest of his classmates. Gone was the teacher too, and in his stead, there was a man, sitting on top of the teacher’s desk.

He wore a red jacket that seemed out of place against the pristine white of the wall behind him, and his hair was a tad too long, the overgrown dark fringe brushing just past his eyebrows, threatening to poke him in the eye.

“Who are you?” Mingyu spluttered as he stood up. 

Faintly, he noticed all the desks were gone. The only ones that remained were his, and the one the man was sitting on.

“Are you that stressed about the exam?” The other asked, instead of replying.

“Well, yeah,” Mingyu admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s worth half my marks and I’m shit at it.”

“What module is it for?”

“Finances,” he replied, causing the other to scrunch his nose, almost delicately, mouth twisting into an expression of disgust.

“Good fucking riddance. I passed that and I still don’t know _how_. I can see why you’re stressed, but I promise it won’t be as bad as you fear. What you need is some rest, you’re about to fall over,” he jumped off the desk and walked towards Mingyu, extending an arm to point at the desk beside him. “Sleep for a bit, I’ll wake you when it’s time.”

Mingyu looked from him to the desk and then back at him.

“Excuse me? Who even are you and why do you care?” He asked, voice apprehensive. The other rolled his eyes.

“I care because you haven’t been sleeping and if you don’t sleep then I don’t sleep, and I can’t dance like this so,” the man was suddenly beside him, even if Mingyu would have sworn he was still quite far away, and pulled softly on his elbow as he manoeuvred him to sit on top of the chair. “Sleep,” he ordered, and Mingyu found himself obeying even if he hadn’t meant to. “You’ll find out soon enough who I am, but that’s not important now.”

And with that, Mingyu closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

***

The exam went fine. It wasn’t his best exam, not by a long shot, but it wasn’t his worst either, and Mingyu felt like he had a decent shot at getting a passing grade and, honestly? That was all he needed.

The day had passed in a blur, his head filled with numbers and accounts to be filled, calculations that needed to be made to see if a hypothetical business would make it past it’s first year, and Mingyu’s head hurt just by thinking about it, or about virtually anything, really. Still, he thought he kind of remembered the nightmare he had had during the night, one that had become his faithful companion over the week and, more importantly, he had the vague idea of someone being in the dream with him, someone who had promised to wake him up when it was time. 

Now, that was probably nothing more than a figment of his imagination, but he _had_ woken up before his alarm went off, and that was weird in itself, but probably not enough proof. Right?

“You’re being haunted,” Soonyoung said around a spoonful of rice. Grains of rice flew around when he spoke, and Mingyu discreetly moved his tray to the side, lips pursed in disgust. Jihoon had no such qualms as Mingyu and punched Soonyoung in the arm, grumbling at him to not do that again.

“I am not being haunted, thank you very much,” Mingyu replied. “It was just a weird dream, nothing else.”

“Why would a ghost even get in Mingyu’s dreams?” Jihoon asked, rolling his eyes.

Soonyoung brightened up at the question and sat up, straighter than before. Mingyu and Jihoon groaned at the same time, recognizing the mistake that had been to ask that.

“Maybe he used to live in Mingyu’s room and he died there and now he can’t rest properly with Mingyu having these nightmares, day in and day out, and when we sleep we’re more sensitive to the ghost’s presence so he got in your mind and, BAM!” He screamed, banging his fist on the table, startling both Mingyu and Jihoon. “He appeared in your dream! Or, or, or, or!! This is part of his plan to infiltrate your brain and make slowly make you go absolutely mad!! And it’s working, you've only seen him once and look how much of an impact he’s left in you!”

“That was so much bullshit, my brain was not prepared to handle it, Soonyoung,” Jihoon replied, pinching the bridge of his nose, sighing.

Soonyoung turned his head to stare at him, frowning and deeply offended, but Jihoon ignored him.

“I am _not_ being haunted, Soonyoung,” Mingyu replied, leaning over the table to stare at Soonyoung, clearly enunciating his words. “He’s probably someone I've seen in passing and my brain just got tired of me freaking out over my exam so he just came in to metaphorically slap me in the face to get my shit together.”

Soonyoung shrugged, digging back into his food.

“Sounds fake but okay. Whatever you say, man. Just don’t come crying to me when the ghost murders you.”

“Thanks for being such a nice friend, dude. What would I do without you?”

“No problem! You’d probably die murdered by a ghost,” Soonyoung supplied happily, probably more than the conversation required.

“You think I’m getting ghost-murdered anyway so I’m not sure why I’m still friends with you,” Mingyu calmly replied. Soonyoung realized a beat too late what he had said and he looked up, crying angrily, while Jihoon cackled beside him.

“Who’s getting ghost-murdered?” An out-of-breath voice asked, just as Soonyoung was about to jump on Mingyu to throttle him.

“Hey, Wonwoo.”

“No one!”

“Mingyu is!”

Wonwoo arched his eyebrows at the three simultaneous replies, pausing briefly as he placed his tray on the table, before sitting right in front of Mingyu. Leaning back in the plastic seat, he pushed his thin-wired glasses further up his nose, and stared at the three of them in turns.

“Hey, Jihoon. I sure hope no one is, Mingyu, but, why do you think Mingyu is going to get murdered by a ghost, Soonyoung?” Wonwoo asked, his face progressively revealing with every word he said just how much he regretted having decided to have lunch with his friends that day. “Now, can someone please tell me what’s going on? Not you, Soonyoung,” he cut the other before Soonyoung could say a word, “not Mingyu either. Preferably someone who’s more unbiased in all this. Jihoon?” He asked, turning to look at their friend.

Soonyoung pouted, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“That’s not fair! Jihoon is not unbiased, he’ll make it seem like I’m saying stupid shit!”

Jihoon rolled his eyes, sighing.

“You don’t need me to do that, babe. That’s just your natural talent,” he teased, before leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to Soonyoung’s lips in apology, the latter chasing after Jihoon when he broke apart without any trace of hesitation.

Wonwoo and Mingyu shared an equally pained look as they waited for the couple to break apart once again, and for Jihoon to return his attention to them.

“Long story short, Mingyu has been having nightmares these days, thinking about his exam—”

“Oh, that’s right, you did have an exam, how did it go?” Wonwoo turned towards Mingyu as he spoke.

“Better than I feared if would, honestly.”

“That’s great then,” Wonwoo gave him a small smile before returning his attention to Jihoon. “I’m sorry for the interruption, please continue.”

Jihoon merely waved with his hand, before taking a sip from his drink.

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway, Mingyu has been having nightmares all this week, and last night, he dreamt of a weird kid who told him Mingyu had been disturbing his sleep during the week and that he’d wake him up when it was time, and then Mingyu woke up before his alarm even went off. Soonyoung here thinks Mingyu is being haunted by some kid that died in Mingyu’s room in the past, and Mingyu thinks it’s nothing. What do you think?”

“Huh,” Wonwoo replied, munching on a single fry. “Have you considered that he might be a dreamwalker? There are a couple of them at uni.”

“Wait, I thought those were rumours? You mean they’re real?” Soonyoung jumped in, alternatively staring at the three of them.

Wonwoo nodded.

“Very much. They’re rare, but they exist. In fact, you know Jun, right?”

“Your _friend_ from your Art history class?” Soonyoung gave Wonwoo a sly smile, which Wonwoo proceeded to ignore.

“That one. Well, Jun is best friend’s with a guy our age who is a dreamwalker. I think he is quite a powerful one, and I’m pretty sure he stays at the dorms too, so maybe your nightmares disturbed his sleep enough that he picked it up and decided to go take a look,” he finished with a shrug.

Grimacing, Mingyu buried his face in his hands.

“You are definitely making me feel so much better. It’s not bad enough that I have nightmares that won’t let _me_ sleep, but I have nightmares that disturb someone else’s. Fantastic, amazing. Just my luck,” he grumbled into his hands.

“Don’t worry too much, man,” Wonwoo said, patting him in the back. “Jun is a nice guy, his friend will understand, I’m sure,” Mingyu relaxed a fraction, but tensed up again when Wonwoo continued speaking. “Mostly. I think. Hopefully.”

“Wonwoo!” Mingyu cried out, dropping his hands on top of the table.

“Sorry man, Jun is nice, but he’s friends with some weird people. The dreamwalker might be one of those,” he replied, causing Jihoon to snicker behind his hand. “I’m sure he isn’t, though,” he added after a brief pause and a not so subtle kick in the shin from Soonyoung.

Groaning, Mingyu dropped his head until his forehead rested against the cool surface of the table, and considered whether or not he’d be able to avoid the dreamwalker for the rest of his days.

***

“How did the exam go?”

The sudden question made Mingyu jump, startled, before he spun around to locate the owner of the voice. The person in question, the man from the previous night, arched an eyebrow, faintly amused by Mingyu’s reaction, and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“It’s you again,” Mingyu said, standing up from the grass where he had been sitting just seconds before. “Ghost or dreamwalker?” He asked, not giving the other time to even open his mouth.

The corners of his lips twitching in what seemed to continue to be amusement, the man lifted his other eyebrow, shooting Mingyu a disbelieving look.

“It’s me,” he replied. “And dreamwalker, I guess. I've never been accused of being a ghost before, I have to admit. Any reason why?”

Cheeks heating up, Mingyu rubbed the back of his neck, averted his eyes to stare at the ground.

“It’s a long story. And very stupid so, don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so…,” the other replied, laughter colouring his words, before finally taking pity on Mingyu. “Anyway, the exam? How did it go?”

“Not too bad. Definitely better than I had feared. Thank you, by the way,” Mingyu managed to say, dragging his eyes up to the man’s face for a brief moment. “And sorry about my nightmares. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Don’t worry about it, man. I’m used to it, it’s what we do, after all,” he replied with a small smile. “I’m Minghao, by the way.”

“Mingyu,” he added half a heartbeat later. “Nice to meet you. And thanks again. If you’re here, does that mean I’m dreaming?”

Minghao nodded, before coming closer to Mingyu, coming to stand besides him. He was wearing the same jacket he’d been wearing the prior night, a bright red that was a stark comparison with his dark hair and shirt. A chain hung from his neck, disappearing under his clothing, hanging low between his collarbones.

“What do you think?”

“I can’t remember having nightmares,” Mingyu confessed, after a moment of brief consideration.

Minghao snorted, a sound that was half amusement half frustration.

“We’re dream walkers, not nightmare walkers, Mingyu. It’s a common misconception, but we can walk into anyone’s dreams, as long as they’re close enough to us. But that is an invasion of privacy so we typically leave you guys alone unless you’re having bad dreams and it’s affecting you, or us.”

“So, was I having a nightmare?” Mingyu asked, words hesitant.

Looking up briefly, Minghao gave him a tiny smile, barely a tilt of his lips.

“Not quite. You were having a weird dream, on the verge of becoming a nightmare, probably. It was going on so fast in your mind that I don’t think you could really process it, so you forgot about everything that happened as soon as it was over. It’s still going on around us, if you look closely,” at that, Mingyu turned around and realized what Minghao was talking about: it was as if the two of them were standing in the middle of a bubble, one that was just big enough to hold them. A safe space for them to stand, while outside flashes of colour and blurry figures moved around at incredible speed. It made Mingyu dizzy to watch. “But I mainly showed up because I wanted to know how your exam had gone.”

“That’s very nice of you,” Mingyu replied, blinking, a bit surprised.

Minghao let out a soft laugh, shaking his head.

“It’s not like I had much to do but, sure, thank you. By the way, do you always have this many nightmares?”

“Eh… Not really, no. At least I don’t think so,” he answered. “Why?”

With a shrug, his hands buried deep in his pockets, Minghao dropped to sit on the floor, the movement much more fluid and graceful than Mingyu thought such a common one deserved. Distantly, a part of him recalled Minghao talking about being unable to dance when he was tired, and he thought it suited him, to be a dancer.

“You just seem to be brimming with tension in your dreams. It tends to be more common with people who suffer from nightmares on a daily basis. Or at least if not daily, then quite often, at least.”

“Can you guys know that too?” Mingyu couldn’t keep his surprise from his tone, causing Minghao to snicker to himself.

“You’d be surprised. Don’t ask me how it works, though, it’s just something we _know_. Almost like an instinct. Not easy to navigate at first, but once you start to understand, it gets much easier.”

"It seems cool," Mingyu said, coming to sit by Minghao's side, even if much less gracefully than the other had been.

"It is, but sometimes it's too much, honestly," Minghao replied, fingers idly playing with the grass beneath them. "Exam season is particularly bad, everyone has restless dreams and it keeps me from resting properly. Too much noise and people needing help for me to focus on anyone or do anything, really."

"Huh. I guess that makes sense, but I hadn't thought about it before," Mingyu admitted. "But, wait, isn't exam season just around the corner?"

"Don't remind me," Minghao groaned, leaning back, head tilted towards the sky. "I'm hoping this will be better than last one but... Who knows. But whatever, I shouldn't be bothering you with this," he continued, shaking his head as he stood up. “I just came here to check up on you.”

"You weren't bothering me," Mingyu contradicted him, but something in him told him Minghao wasn't really listening to him, not any longer.

"I still have a few rounds to do, so I'll be leaving now," he said, looking down at Mingyu, who just nodded. "Congrats on your exam again."

"Thank you for helping me."

With one last smile in Mingyu's direction, Minghao left.

Around him, the air seemed to fluctuate, like it was a trick of the light. Minghao was there, and then gone, no whisper or echo to prove there had ever been anyone there, other than Mingyu himself.

Still, the memory of him lingered in Mingyu’s mind, refusing to disappear quite as easily.

***

"I told you the dreamwalker would be nice," Wonwoo said, licking the spoon with which he was eating his icecream.

"No, you didn't," Mingyu replied, waving his own spoon threateningly in front of Wonwoo's face, so close to it he went a bit cross-eyed trying to follow its movement. "You put the fear of God in me, which is definitely not a way to help or reassure anyone, much less me."

Wonwoo shrugged, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Not my fault you're a coward at heart."

Mingyu opened his mouth to retort, indignant, but Jihoon beat him to it.

"Absolutely no fighting in my room, or I'm kicking you both out. And whoever breaks anything, pays for it," he threatened, not once looking away from his typing.

"That was once!" Mingyu cried out.

"I don't need my table broken any more times, thank you," Jihoon replied, his tone holding no room for discussion.

"Not my fault it was cheap," Mingyu grumbled under his breath, softly enough to not be heard.

Still, Jihoon glared at him with narrowed eyes, like he had heard him, and Mingyu put up his most innocent expression.

Wonwoo, still eating his ice cream straight from the tube, shrugged.

"He kicked out Soonyoung once, dude. I wouldn't test him, who knows what he might do to us if we break the table again."

"You're his roommate," Mingyu frowned.

"He loves this table more than he loves me," Wonwoo simply replied, earning a cackle from Jihoon.

"Listen to Wonwoo, Mingyu," Jihoon interjected, before putting his headphones back on, and focusing on his project.

"Yeah, listen to me, Mingyu," Wonwoo said, scooting closer to Mingyu. "I told you the dreamwalker would be nice if he was Jun's friend, and he is! Maybe you guys can get closer and become friends."

"Or something else," Jihoon added, his fingers not once stopping in their typing. “We all know you want to.”

"Weren't you listening to a recording of your class?" Mingyu asked Jihoon, his frown deepening when the other pointed at his headphones, instead of replying. 

He threw a paper ball at Jihoon's head, missing by a little, and Jihoon flipped him before throwing another ball at Mingyu, one that hit him square in the forehead.

Huffing, Mingyu returned his attention to Wonwoo.

"First of all, you didn't tell me he was nice, you just said he might be, which is not as reassuring as you think it is. Second of all, we don't know if he's Jun's friend—“

"He probably is, there aren't _that_ many dreamwalkers here."

"And what do you guys mean we might be ‘something else’?" He asked, ignoring Wonwoo's interruption. "There's nothing else we can be, I doubt I'll even see him again."

"I wouldn't be so sure about it," Wonwoo replied. "I have a feeling you'll be seeing each other a lot more now."

"You're speaking nonsense," Mingyu replied, rolling his eyes. "Now, if you've finished your ice cream, focus, we have to finish this project tonight or the teacher will skin us alive and I don’t know you, but I don’t want to find out what I look like without my skin covering me.”

***

“I thought you said you didn’t have nightmares, Mingyu.”

The words, unexpected as they were, made Mingyu jump, startled, a scream creeping up his throat. Turning around, hand clutching his chest, Mingyu almost crashed into Minghao, who managed to sidestep him at the last moment, his arms extended in front of his body to steady Mingyu.

“Wo, wo, wo, are you alright!?”

Breathing in deeply, Mingyu managed to nod, his heart still beating wildly in his chest.

“You scared me,” he replied. His voice sounded shakier than he’d liked, and he cleared his throat, attempting to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Minghao said. The concern in his eyes betrayed his apparent nonchalance, though, and he only let his hands drop from Mingyu’s forearm when he was sure Mingyu wouldn’t fall over. “Are you okay? I thought you said you weren’t someone who suffered from nightmares.”

“And I’m not! This is all Soonyoung’s fault,” Mingyu grumbled, running his fingers through his hair. “He wanted to watch _The shining_ and he forced me to watch it with him and here we are now.”

“And why didn’t you tell him you didn’t want to watch it with him?”

Mingyu huffed, rolling his eyes, before his whole body froze again after a muted screech sounded from the distance.

“Y-you really don’t know Soonyoung,” he replied, balling his hands into fists and burying it deep in his pockets. “He was supposed to watch it with our friend Wonwoo, but his study group ran late and he ditched him, so Soonyoung forced me to watch it with him, and I really don’t want to fight Soonyoung, he can be downright terrifying when he’s mad,” he shuddered. He then noticed the strange expression on Minghao’s face, his brows slightly burrowed, and he tilted his head to the side, confused. “Is everything alright, Minghao?”

“Wonwoo?” Mingyu hummed, still confused. “Like Wonwoo, Jun’s friend?”

Surprised, Mingyu took a step back.

“Maybe? I mean, Wonwoo has a friend called Jun, from his Art history class? Is that the same Jun?”

“Yeah, that’s my Jun,” Minghao nodded, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Wait, then Soonyoung wouldn’t happen to be Soonyoung the dance major, right?”

“That’s my Soonyoung, yeah. Do you know him too?”

“I don’t know Wonwoo but I do have the…, pleasure, of knowing Soonyoung,” Minghao replied, grimacing, even if the way he’s eyes shone betrayed his words and tone. “Then I’m not that surprised you didn’t want to antagonize Soonyoung.”

“Right? He’s one of my best friends, but he can be so scary when he gets mad,” Mingyu shuddered.

Minghao hummed his assent.

“I mean, I can see where you’re coming from, but I do think I’d be able to take him,” he replied. 

His eyes sparkled with something akin to mischief, and Mingyu found himself wanting to mimic the way Minghao was smiling then, as if they were not surrounded by screaming and blood, and the looming shadow of a demonic doll.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked, unable to look away as Minghao’s smile grew in size, turning into a real grin.

“Absolutely,” he replied. He was about to say something else when a rattling sound came from behind them, making Mingyu almost jump out of his skin, and so instead he took a step forward, extended his hand towards Mingyu. “Would you like to get out of here?”

“Can you do that?”

“I’m a dreamwalker, of course I can,” he huffed, like Mingyu had just asked the most ridiculous question. He then smiled immediately, eyes creasing into half-moons. “It’s one of the perks, to be able to walk out of a dream at will,” he said, his voice soft but somehow still audible over the screaming that was starting to grow into a deafening noise.

Mingyu hesitated, staring at the hand still outstretched in front of him. Minghao patiently waited, not changing his posture in the slightest, giving Mingyu time to decide. He almost didn’t seem real, standing right inside one of Mingyu’s dreams, calm and collected, and so far away from the stuff Mingyu’s nightmares were made of.

His hands were soft when Mingyu finally reached out and placed his palm above Minghao’s, fingers slotting together almost seamlessly. He was warm and solid under Mingyu’s touch, the realest thing to ever walk his dreams, even more so than Mingyu himself.

“Let yourself go, and don’t fight it,” was the only warning Minghao gave him before gently tugging him towards him, his words cutting through the stream of Mingyu’s thoughts.

Just as he did so, the environment around them changed: the gloomy light that had greeted him when Mingyu had first started to dream faded away, replaced by something softer, more welcoming. The shouting decreased in volume until silence embraced them, one that allowed Mingyu to breathe in what felt like the first time in ages.

Minghao let go of Mingyu’s hand, putting some distance between them once again.

“We normally do this without the sleeper being aware of it, but since I know you…,” he replied, waving his hand like it wasn’t a big deal, like he hadn’t just stopped Mingyu’s nightmares with little more than pulling at his hand.

"Thank you, again," Mingyu said, his hands still clammy, but progressively returning to their usual state. "It seems like I'm always telling you that these days."

"You don't have to worry about that," Minghao replied, shaking his head. "It's the least I can do, given my ability."

Mingyu opened his mouth to reply, but just then Minghao swayed to the side, and he rushed forward to keep him from falling.

"Wow, are you okay?" He asked, quickly scanning over Minghao to figure out what was wrong.

Minghao nodded, licking his lips as he took a step back, but not before Mingyu spotted the dark circles under his eyes, the traces of tiredness that were obvious against his skin, like he hadn't slept in weeks, even if that was impossible.

It dawned on him just then.

"It's the exam period, isn't it?" He said, causing Minghao to widen his eyes, like he hadn't expected for him to remember it. "You said it made it difficult for you to sleep because everyone is having restless dreams."

"Yes, it's always the same when the exams start. I'll be okay when it ends, it's just that during these days, it's hard to focus on anything, and being on my dreamscape it's just tiring because I can't filter out the noise, but it'll be fine soon," Minghao replied, offering him a tiny, barely-there, smile.

Mingyu nodded, nibbling on his lower lip as he thought.

"I don't know if it'd help," he started, words hesitant. "But if you want somewhere to rest, you could always come here. I know you said you guys don't like to linger in someone else's mind but you've already been here and I don't mind it, like, at all, and if being in your own dream means you keep listening to others, you can come here and stay for as long as you want. I really don't mind," he offered, speaking faster than he'd done ever before. 

A wave of embarrassment washed over him when he looked up, found Minghao staring at him, an incredulous look on his face as his mouth hung open.

"Thank you," he said, before Mingyu could continue talking and embarrass himself even further. "I might take you up on that someday."

Mingyu smiled at him, relaxing a little with Minghao's reply.

"You're more than welcome, and the offer starts now," he added. "So if you want to rest for a bit here, you're more than welcome to do so whenever you need to."

Minghao cracked a smile then, one that was more genuine than his previous one, and rolled his shoulders.

"I know I look like shit, but thank you for being kind enough to not point it out directly," he replied with a small laugh. "You might be right, resting for a little while might be better than to continue to do this in this state.”

At that, the scenery around them changes, become more defined. They found themselves standing in the middle of the woods, tall trees around them providing them with shades. The colours were vibrant, so alive they seemed almost unreal. A soft breeze blew through the trees around them, running kind fingers though their hair, caressing their faces, carrying with them a soft murmur that made them relax almost immediately.

"How did you do this?" Mingyu asked, impressed.

Minghao laughed, before sitting down by one of the trees.

"This wasn't me. You did it all by yourself.”

"Me? How is that even possible?" He asked when Minghao nodded.

"This is your dream, you are the one responsible for it. The dreamer is always capable of changing whatever they're dreaming with, I just make the process easier for you, I guess."

"But you've changed my dreams before," he pointed out. Minghao shook his head even before Mingyu had finished his sentence. 

"I was more like a... Catalyst, for the change, than the one behind it, really. You were not feeling comfortable in it, and couldn't change it, so I did it for you, but it wasn't anything you didn't want me to do. If I were to, say, return you to that nightmare without you wanting to, I wouldn't be able to do it. Like some defense mechanism, in a way."

"That's cool. I never knew there was so much stuff to know behind the whole 'dreams' thing, but it's interesting," he replied, sitting by Minghao's side, legs extended in front of him. 

“I can teach you sometime, if you want—” Right then, Minghao yawned, and though he rushed to hide it behind his hand, he wasn't fast enough to hide it from Mingyu, who just playfully nudged at him with his shoulder.

"Take a nap or whatever you need to do to relax, Minghao, and take all the time you need. You're more than welcome to stay, so don't worry about it," Mingyu repeated what he'd said before, anticipating the reply that he saw forming on Minghao's brain.

Minghao's face softened at that, and he extended his arm to place his hand on Mingyu's arm, squeezing it lightly.

"Thank you," he replied, words soft but earnest.

It was only then that Mingyu registered just how delicate Minghao was, compared to him. Physically, he was much broader, but Minghao had a presence that seemed to command all eyes to him, had your attention before you even realized what exactly had happened. 

There, sitting by Mingyu's side under the shade of the trees, relaxed as he closed his eyes, a content smile tugging at his lips, Minghao almost felt like a dream, if only Mingyu's mind was able to ever conjure someone like him.

By the time he regained his words, Minghao was already asleep, a peaceful expression on his face.

"You're welcome," Mingyu softly replied as to not disturb him, before leaning back against the trunk and doing the same.

***

It sort of became a tradition, after that. Minghao would come to Mingyu's dreamscape whenever he needed a break, and he'd (occasionally) have to put an end to Mingyu's nightmares when they plagued him. 

What had started as a means to offer Minghao a reprieve, and company when he needed it,became part of Mingyu's routine, in a way, something to which he looked forward: to share his dreams with Minghao during the night, a friendship blossoming between them with every passing hour, and, during the days, to hang out with his friends, who had heard more about the dreamwalker than they could apparently stand.

("Just ask him out!" Soonyoung shook Mingyu by the shoulders, just on the brink of screaming.

"I can't ask him out, I haven't even met him in real life!"

"Then ask him out for coffee or something and there, problem solved!" Replied Jihoon.

"He's never said anything about wanting to meet me in real life, I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable."

"You've never said anything to him either and you're dying to meet him, your argument is invalid," screamed Soonyoung.

"I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable!"

"I love you, but you're an idiot," Soonyoung hissed, throwing his hands in the air, before turning towards his boyfriend in look for help.

"At least he hasn't denied he wants to ask him out. I'm going to consider that progress," Wonwoo briefly paused his texting to add that, before returning to it.

"I do want to ask him out, as a _friend_!" Mingyu protested, but by then he had already lost his friends’ attention span.)

"Mingyu? Is anything wrong?" Minghao's words brought Mingyu back to Earth, and he shook his head to get rid of the memory, least his mind took it as a cue to add it into his dream. 

"Nah, don't worry," he replied. "I was just thinking, nothing too serious. Sorry I got distracted, what were you saying?"

"Nothing serious, don't worry. I was just saying whatever came to mind, really."

"Are you nervous about something?" He asked, already becoming used to Minghao's telltales.

As he'd expected, Minghao started to shake his head, only to stop and dip his chin in acknowledgement. 

"A little bit, yes," he admitted with a grimace. Mingyu tilted his head to the side, silently encouraging him to keep talking. "It's not that big, I guess, but next week is an important one and I've been looking forward to it for a very long time, and the closer I get, the more nervous I become."

Mingyu hummed, pushing his hair away from his eyes.

"Anything I can do to help you?"

Minghao shook his head.

"You letting me stay here is doing enough, honestly. I was going crazy out there, but being here, with you, kinda relaxed me, if that makes sense," he admitted. Mingyu only nodded in reply, a mix of pride and fondness growing in his chest, warmth spreading through his veins. "I guess it's a good thing Jun moved out, I'd be bothering him _so much_ right now if he hadn't."

"Do you go often to Jun in your dreams, then?" The question slipped through Mingyu's lips before he could stop himself, and he felt himself his cheeks grow warm when he realized what he'd asked.

Minghao didn't seem bothered by his question, though, only shooting him an amused look, before returning his attention to the ground beneath him.

"I used to, yeah. We've known each other since we were children, and when we moved to the dorms we roomed together, so when the dreams became too overwhelming, I went to his mind, kinda like I do with you. But he had to move out this year, and now I'm alone, and it's been tougher to face all the changes without him, you know? I hadn't realized until I came here, but it's important to have someplace you can go to when it gets too much, and back home I had my parents and my siblings, and here I had Jun, but this year I didn't have anyone, and it was hard to adjust to it. Now I have you, though, and I'm really grateful I do," Minghao squeezed Mingyu's forearm lightly, a small smile directed in his direction, and Mingyu focused on returning it, not letting himself linger on the fading imprint of Minghao's fingers of his skin when the latter released his arm.

"And now you have me," he replied, his throat dry. 

For as long as you want to, his heart whispered, but Mingyu kept his mouth resolutely shut, refusing to allow out not even a murmur.

Above them, the clear sky started to disappear behind a thick curtain of clouds, one that threatened to take all source of light with them, and leave them in the dark. Minghao arched his eyebrows as he looked at Mingyu, amusement in his dark eyes.

"Want to take a shower or something?"

Mingyu scowled at Minghao in mock annoyance, causing the other to snicker softly to himself. Satisfied with that sound, Mingyu focused on the sky, tried to follow Minghao's instructions to make his dreamscape obey his conscious commands.

_Stop raining_ , he thought.

A raindrop fell on his nose. Then another on his left pinkie. And another on the crown of Minghao's head, and suddenly it was like the sky was pouring buckets over them.

"Mingyu!" Minghao yelled, a startled laugh escaping through his lips as he jumped to his feet.

"I can't make it stop!" Mingyu screamed back, trying to be heard over the roaring of the rain around them, hands coming to cover his face. "Can you change it?"

"No!" Minghao cried out as the rain somehow became even stronger. "Your mind doesn't want it to stop raining!"

"But I do! What can we do!?" 

Mingyu let his arms drop limply by his sides, realizing just how useless it was to try and cover himself.

Suddenly, the rain stopped falling on top of him, even if around him it kept raining. Looking up, Mingyu noticed there was some kind of protection over his head, a small circle that covered just him and Minghao, some makeshift umbrella Minghao had conjured right on the spot.

"We can go somewhere else," Minghao offered.

The umbrella over them was so small they were almost squished together, barely any room between them. They were close enough for Mingyu to notice the droplets still hanging from Minghao's eyelashes, and see himself reflected in his eyes. His hair, plastered against his forehead and neck, was like ink running down the planes of his face, and Mingyu had to force himself to look away, balling his hands into fists to keep them from moving.

"Go where?" He managed to ask without his voice breaking. "I thought I couldn't go to someone else's dream."

It was something Minghao had explained to him some weeks before, on a night they had been talking about the specifics of all the dreamwalking: only dreamwalkers had the ability to walk into dreams that weren't his own.

Minghao nodded.

"And you can't, but that doesn't mean you can't leave your own mind. I can't take you to someone else's dreamscape, but I can take you to mine. Do you want to come?" He asked, extending a hand towards him, palm facing upwards.

Instead of replying, Mingyu put his hand on top of Minghao's, fingers hovering just a hair's breadth away from the other's.

Minghao smiled, and the rain was gone, as was everything else, replaced by sheer darkness for a fraction of a second, before it faded away, revealing the same scenery they'd left behind just seconds prior, sans the raining.

At first glance, there was no obvious difference between that place and the one in Mingyu's mind, but Mingyu could tell it had changed. It wasn't anything that he could see, but rather something that he felt deep in his bones, some instinct that told him, no matter how similar they were, that it wasn't his mind. If anything, it kind of felt like when Mingyu went to one of his friend's places, one that, no matter how pretty or familiar it was, would never feel entirely like home.

The difference there was more subtle, but it was still present.

The smile on Minghao's face grew, and it was then that Mingyu realized he'd never stopped studying his face since they'd left Mingyu's dream.

"You noticed, didn't you? That this is not like your dream, you felt the difference." Mingyu nodded. "I have to say, I'm impressed. From what I've been told, most people don't realize there's something different until much later."

"I can't tell exactly how I know, but there's... Something, that's different. Like a feeling, in a way."

"Yeah, I feel that too when I go to someone else's mind. My guess is that every one of us have a different imprint, and that's what you're picking up now, that my mind is not your mind. But don't worry, this is perfectly safe. If you were to wake up right now, you'd wake up in your own mind and body, no secondary effects," he rushed to add.

"Okay," Mingyu replied. 

“‘Okay'? That's it? I thought it'd take more to convince you," Minghao replied, frowning in confusion.

Mingyu just shrugged, then smiled.

"Just ‘okay’. I trust you, Minghao. If you say it's safe, then I'm sure it is."

Minghao had clearly not been expecting that, and his cheeks coloured slightly at the sudden compliment.

"Thank you," he said, clearing his throat as he averted his eyes for a second. "Anyway, I— I brought you here to show you something," he continued, causing Mingyu to look at him curiously. "I wanted to teach you how to do this in your own dreams, but seeing as you still don't have full control," Minghao sidestepped Mingyu to avoid the halfhearted swat the latter aimed in his direction, laughing as he did so, "the truth hurts, my dear Mingyu."

"Oh, shut up," he replied, no real bite to his words.

"As I was saying, before that rude interruption," Minghao playfully glared at Mingyu before smiling once again, "this requires a bit of control, so I think its best if I show you this here. Remember when I told you, you can make and do whatever you want in your mind?" Mingyu nodded. "Well, that's absolutely true. The sky is the limit, and you can make whatever you can think of so, in a way, your dreamscape is a blank canvas, and when you can control it, you can make things like this. Watch."

Even if Minghao hadn't told him to watch, Mingyu didn't think he'd been able to do anything but, especially as the world seemed to lose its light, the focus being directed upwards.

Above them, the night sky shone, stars like diamonds spread against velvet, twinkling in mischief, as swirling hues of blues and purples and pinks combined into the most wonderful of colours, some of which Mingyu was sure didn't exist outside of Minghao's mind. There was something about it, some spark that made it glow from within, that made Mingyu think it was alive, a living and breathing piece of art to which only a handful of people were privy, and, somehow, Mingyu had managed to slip undetected into that exclusive group.

It was nothing short of a wonder, and Mingyu’s breath got caught in his lungs as he stared, trying to take in all of its beauty. 

"You did this?" He asked, still trying to regain his breath. "It's beautiful. No, it’s more than beautiful and it deserves better words to describe it but I can only say 'wow' right now, honestly."

Beside him, Minghao nodded, cheeks reddening slightly under Mingyu's praise.

"It's not finished yet," Minghao said.

"It isn't!? Oh God. If it isn't, then I can't even imagine just how beautiful it will be when it's done."

"I'm afraid I might ruin it," Minghao admitted then.

"I understand that, but I honestly think you can't ruin this. If you've managed to think something like _this_ , create _this_ , there's no way it's becoming anything else than even more beautiful. I really need other words to describe it, but you made me forget them all, I swear," he replied, turning to look at Minghao.

He had to have read Mingyu's sincerity on his face, for he blushed, a wave of shyness seemingly taking over him.

"Thank you," he replied, before taking a step closer to Mingyu. "Would you come and see it? When it's done."

"I would really love to," he replied. "I think there are very little things that would make me happier than that."

Minghao smiled at that, his face painted in hues of navy blue and deep purple, making him into something out of a dream. It was only the warmth that seeped into Mingyu as Minghao leaned against him, that marked him as someone made of flesh and bone.

Still, Mingyu's brain struggled to accept that, and his fingers itched to touch Minghao, to find he was as solid and real as he hoped him to be.

Mingyu stared at Minghao as the latter looked at the sky, his heart beating loudly in his chest, and found himself thinking, not for the first time, how he wished he could meet him outside.

***

"What even are we doing here?" Mingyu asked for the umpteenth time. "Since when are you guys into," he narrowed his eyes to make out the lettering on the pamphlet, "contemporary dance?"

Like it had happened the previous times he'd asked, Mingyu was met with silence as his friends settled down, and he had no choice but to follow in their stead, seating on the last spot available, just by Wonwoo's side.

"Wonwoo, my friend, please tell me why we're here. Just tell me and I'll stop pestering you," he pleaded.

Wonwoo just sighed and pulled out his phone, quickly typing out something, without so much as looking at Mingyu, who slumped against the backrest, dejected.

"Stop being so dramatic," Jihoon replied from where he was sitting, two seats away from Wonwoo. "Soonyoung always performs here, and I always come to see him. Why is it so weird that we're here this time?"

"Because you've quite literally dragged me here and that inspires no trust, honestly."

"If I tell you Jun is one of the people who are performing, will that shut you up?" Wonwoo replied, exasperated, as he pocketed his phone.

Wonwoo and Jihoon watched him expectantly. Mingyu paused for a second, then frowned.

"No," his friends both groaned. "That doesn't explain why you've been so secretive!"

"Well, the only way you'll find out is if you stay so just, keep quiet and you'll see," Jihoon replied, turning his attention to his phone.

"Wonwoo?" Mingyu pleaded, one last time.

Wonwoo shrugged.

"You heard him. Just wait and see."

Right then, the lights dimmed and Mingyu lost his chance to say anything else, so he focused on the performances. They were good, more than good if he were to be honest, and his hands hurt from clapping so much after Soonyoung's piece, but by the brief recess that signalled the halfway point of the performances, he still hadn't quite figured out why they had wanted him to come so badly.

"Mingyu, I swear it will make sense, just wait a little," Jihoon begged him.

"We promise it's a good thing, you'll be grateful we dragged you here," added Wonwoo. "But you'll have to wait or we'll drag you away after it's done the same way we dragged you here," he threatened. "It's taken quite a bit of work to get us here, so just enjoy the surprise."

"But why was it—“

"We'll drag you away, I swear," Wonwoo repeated through gritted teeth.

Jus then, the lights dimmed again, and Mingyu lost the opportunity to say what he had been about to say. Grumbling under his breath, he returned his attention towards the front of the theater, and all words left his mind. Everything around him faded into nothingness, his brain completely focused on the dancer that had just stepped onto the stage, almost glinting under the spotlight, purple gauze floating around him, turning him into something ethereal, unattainable.

The dancer stood with his back almost turned to the public, his head angled over his shoulder to look at them from under his lashes, and the image hit Mingyu like a truck, stealing the breath from his lungs in one swift motion. 

He barely had time to collect his thoughts, brain going into override, and then the dancer _moved_ , he started to _dance_ and Mingyu forgot even his own name.

How could he not, when the dancer, when _Minghao_ , moved like he was weightless, when he moved as if gravity did not tie him down to Earth? Mingyu had always thought Minghao was lovely, had always thought Minghao was better suited as an angel than a dreamwalker, but it wasn’t until then, when he saw him dance like he was made for it, like it was as easy as breathing, that he fully expected Minghao to turn around and fly away, carried by wings he had failed to notice until then, big things made of feathers and stardust that would carry him away from a world that was too common, too weighed down to fully deserve someone such as Minghao.

The performance was over sooner than he’d liked it to be. His body moved on autopilot when Minghao turned around and bowed deep when he faced the crowd, sweat dripping down his neck and flushed cheeks, Mingyu’s hands coming together to applaud his performance, too mesmerized to properly take it in.

His eyes refused to leave Minghao, drinking in his shy smile, the way, even when he moved to leave the stage, he moved with endless grace. His brain played his performance on loop until he was sure he’d be able to see it in his sleep. Although that would certainly be embarrassing if Minghao happened to walk into one of his dreams again, though, so he really hoped that wouldn’t be the case.

“Mingyu, hey, come here,” Wonwoo called out to him, motioning for him to get closer. 

Mingyu frowned, confused as to when had Wonwoo left his seat. It wasn’t until Mingyu stood up that he saw the theatre was slowly getting empty, a slow trickle of people leaving through the open doors, and he realized with a jolt that what had felt like five minutes had been much longer than that, and he had completely missed the rest of the performance.

His friends were already up, waiting for him, and Mingyu grabbed his stuff and went after them, hoping they wouldn’t notice the way his cheeks had heated up. Judging by Wonwoo and Jihoon’s knowing looks, he hadn’t had such luck.

“What is it?” He asked when he reached Wonwoo’s side.

Instead of replying, Wonwoo turned around, frowning as he scanned the crowd around them, before finding whoever it was he was looking for, and waving at them to come closer.

Mingyu shot Wonwoo a curious look, but his friend merely shook his head, refusing to say a word, so Mingyu returned his attention to the person making his way through the crowd towards them: it was a man shorter than them, with a big smile and wearing a beret that was a little crooked, almost threatening to fall out of place. He moved in and out of the crowd with grace, open long coat flapping behind him, a grey scarf around his neck. 

Something about his face seemed familiar to Mingyu, some spark of recognition that wasn’t enough to ignite true identification.

Finally, the other cut through the stream of people still leaving the room, and reached them, almost immediately latching onto Wonwoo’s arm, a toothy smile directed only at him.

Wonwoo blinked, free arm coming to steady the newcomer. Then, almost on its own accord, he reached for the beret the other was wearing, movements careful as he straightened it. His fingers lingered for a fraction longer than they really needed to, carefully brushing a stray lock before the other’s ear.

“It was crooked,” he merely said for all reply. The newcomer’s smile became even brighter, Wonwoo seeming a little starstruck by it.

Mingyu and Jihoon exchanged a look, amusement bubbling in them. Like he was feeling them do just that, Wonwoo turned his head towards them, levelling them with a sour look. Jihoon just smirked, while Mingyu put his hands up, palms facing forward, wearing his most innocent expression. 

It only made Wonwoo’s frown deeper.

“Jun, this is Jihoon,” Wonwoo pointed at Jihoon, who politely greeted Jun. He then turned to point at Mingyu, who had finally put two and two together and realized why Jun’s face was so familiar, “and this, is Mingyu.”

Mingyu saw the spark of recognition in Jun’s eyes, face visibly brightening up at Wonwoo’s words. Before any of them could say anything else, Jun broke apart from Wonwoo, going straight for Mingyu, a strange glint in his eyes.

Startled, Mingyu took a step back, unsure of what to do. He looked at Wonwoo over Jun’s head, but his friend seemed as confused as Mingyu himself felt.

“So _you_ are Mingyu, huh?” Jun said, coming to a stop next to Mingyu, so close they could almost touch.

“That’s me,” Mingyu replied, his confusion obvious in his voice. “Why?”

“I didn’t know you were Wonwoo’s friend until very recently,” ignoring Mingyu’s question, like he hadn’t even spoken, Jun spoke, though it seemed like he was talking to himself more than to the rest of them. “Someone should have told me. It would have made things so much easier.”

“Wonwoo…?” Mingyu resorted to pleading to his friend, who extended a hand towards Jun, lightly grabbing him by his elbow.

“Junnie, what are you talking about?”

Jun turned his face towards Wonwoo and beamed at him, a smile that would have made him look almost angelic, if it weren’t for the devious mind Mingyu had spied moments before.

“Don’t worry about it, Wonwoo. I’m just here to do my job as someone’s best friend. And for that, I need you to lend me Mingyu,” Wonwoo’s eyes flickered to Mingyu, who vehemently shook his head. 

However, Wonwoo seemed to have read something on Jun’s face that Mingyu hadn’t, for his lips trembled slightly, like he was fighting to avoid smiling. 

“If you’re sure you know what you’re doing…”

“Wonwoo!” Mingyu hissed, but Wonwoo paid him no mind.

“When have I ever not known what I was doing? Don’t answer that,” Jun added when Wonwoo opened his mouth, a playful look in his eyes. “Mingyu, come with me, we have a very important thing to do.”

Mingyu turned to Jihoon for help, but his friend, the traitor, just shrugged, trying to feign nonchalance even if the way he was biting his bottom lip to keep himself from smiling gave him away.

“If Wonwoo says its fine, I won’t fight.”

“You guys are useless,” Mingyu ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated.

Taking pity on him, Wonwoo softly pat him on the back, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

“You can trust him, I promise. You do remember who his best friend was, right?” Mingyu stared at him blankly until something in his brain clicked. “Exactly. You just do whatever Jun tells you to do and it’ll be fine.”

“Listen to your friend, he’s a smart one,” Jun cheerfully said, causing Wonwoo’s cheeks to turn pink. “Now let’s go, we can’t waste time, and we’re already late.”

“Late for what?” Mingyu asked, but Jun was no longer listening to him, instead dragging him towards the corridor, and Mingyu had no choice but to comply. “Jun, where are we going?” He tried again when Jun let his wrist go, craning his neck around as he looked for something.

“I’m trying to find my friends… There! Come,” he signalled, already moving. “Chan!” He called out, and a dark-haired boy turned towards them, automatically smiling at the sight of Jun.

“Hey, Jun!”

“Hey, Chan, one quick question, do you have the flowers?” Jun asked, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. 

Chan dragged his eyes away from Mingyu to focus on Jun, and nodded.

“Yes, of course. Why?”

“I need you to give them to me,” Jun replied, extending his arms in front of him.

“What? Why? I can’t just do that dude, you know it.”

“Chan,” Jun said, taking a step forward as he placed his hands on the other’s shoulders. Chan frowned, mistrust clear in his eyes. “This is Mingyu,” he continued, turning around to point at Mingyu, who waved awkwardly, unsure of what was going on.

His confusion only grew when Chan’s annoyance cleared immediately from his face after hearing that. His mouth opened and he nodded slowly, understanding setting over him before he snorted.

“You know he’s going to kill you, right?” He asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Jun shook his head, dismissive.

“Of course he isn’t, I’m his best friend, who’s only giving him some much-needed help. Question is, are _you_ going to help me?”

Chan shrugged, chuckling to himself.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied, as Jun waved his fist in the air. “I was missing some entertainment around here, and this seems like it’ll be good enough.”

“Your lack of faith in me wounds me, but that’s not going to stop me,” Jun replied, his previous cheerfulness coming back at full force. “Now, can you give them to me?”

In lieu of replying, Chan told them to stay in place and left for a couple of minutes. After he came back, he was carrying a huge bouquet of flowers, one that was almost bigger than himself, and Jun rushed to grab them.

“Thank you, Chan. Minghao owes you one!”

“Minghao? Not you?” Chan replied, amused, as Jun set them in motion once again. His laughter echoed in the walls of the corridor after Jun threw him a wink over the sea of flowers, not losing a beat.

“Okey, can I ask know was that?” Mingyu asked as they left behind the crowd of people, delving deeper into the building, through corridors that were clearly restricted to the public.

“That was our newest recruit giving us the flowers and lending us a hand. Now, _you_ are going to take the flowers and give them to our dearest Minghao.”

“What, what? Why me?” Mingyu stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway.

Jun turned around, fumbling with the bouquet to make sure he wouldn’t drop it.

“Because Minghao says you guys are fine not meeting outside your dreamscape but that’s clearly a lie, and Wonwoo says the same thing. Alas, I’m trying to help you both. I would have done so much earlier if I’d known you were both Minghao’s dream guy,” Mingyu blushed at that, “and Wonwoo’s Mingyu, but Minghao refused to give me enough details to make the connection until he slipped up the other day,” Jun held Mingyu's eyes as he spoke, the honestly and wish to help obvious in the way he held himself. "Look, you don't have to do anything. You don't even have to go in and give him the flowers, but maybe consider coming with me?" Jun offered, shaking his head to push away the loose strands of hair that threatened to fall into his eyes. "I just thought you'd like to do it because Wonwoo told me you seemed starstruck when you saw him dance and whenever you talk about him. Which, by the way, is the correct way to react because Minghao is amazing, and I thought this could kill two birds with one stone, but don't feel pressured into doing it—“

"I'll do it," Mingyu cut him, burying his hands in his pockets.

It took Jun a couple of seconds to register what Mingyu had said and, when he did, he did a double-take, blinking in surprise.

"Wait, what? You will? Why? Not that I'm not glad you will, but please don't feel pressured to do it, Minghao would murder me in my sleep if it were the case," Jun's words spilt from his lips like water bursting from a dam, threatening to drown everything in their way.

Still, it was obvious he meant every one of them, and the obvious concern in his voice almost made Mingyu smile, endeared.

"I'm not. Pressured, I mean, don't worry about that," Jun nodded slowly, even if the confusion was still obvious in his face. Mingyu sighed, rolling his shoulders. "You're right. I do want to meet him in person and I hope he wants to meet me too but if he doesn't, at least I'll have an excuse to bolt and save us both the embarrassment."

At that, Jun huffed, an airy sound that had Mingyu narrowing his eyes at him, but Jun only seemed faintly amused, an encouraging smile on his lips.

"You guys are both equally terrible."

"Hey!" Mingyu frowned, feeling offended. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're both terrible in equal measure," Jun pushed the bouquet into Mingyu's arms, uncaring of the way some of the flowers crumpled against Mingyu's chest. "I swear Minghao will be more than delighted to see you. Now, go, and say hi to him from me," before Mingyu could complain, Jun was already ushering him towards a door, not too far from where they had been standing. "That's him," Jun pointed out, as if Mingyu's throat hadn't gone dry at the sight of the name written on a paper on the door. "Good luck and don't be afraid, he'll be really happy to see you, trust me!" Jun shouted over his shoulder as he run away, and suddenly Mingyu was left alone in front of the door of Minghao's changing room.

His hands were clammy, and it felt as if his heart was about to break free from his ribcage but when the thought of turning around and leaving, find Jun and tell him he couldn't do it, crossed his mind, Mingyu reached out and knocked on the door with as much confidence as he could muster. 

It had been fine when he thought he'd never really have the chance to meet Minghao but when the opportunity had been presented to him in a golden platter, and he'd been quite literally dragged there... He couldn't, wouldn't, turn around and leave.

If it ended up being a disaster, then he'd try to forget about it, but he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers, not when his dreams had been filled with Minghao, either the dreamscape version of him or the one Mingyu’s mind conjured to keep him company on the rare nights Minghao didn’t visit him. 

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the soft reply coming from the inside, nor the footsteps approaching the door until it opened, and he was left staring at Minghao, unable to say a word.

_He's even prettier up close_ , his traitorous mind whispered in his ear, leaving him to gape at Minghao, all the words he'd known until that moment turned into foreign sounds he couldn't make sense of.

Clearly not expecting him, Minghao looked taken aback for a moment, eyes wide open fixed on Mingyu, before he regained his bearings, a smile slowly spreading through his face.

"Mingyu? What are you doing here?"

Minghao's voice was enough to break Mingyu free from his reverie. Shaking his head, he extended his arms almost on autopilot, still struggling to find his words. Minghao automatically reached out to grab the flowers, hugging them to his chest almost hungrily, never once looking away from Mingyu.

"My friends wanted to come to the performance and they dragged me here and then Jun told me to bring you the flowers, so here I am. I hope you don't mind," he added, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Of course I don't mind, how could I? Come in," Minghao stepped aside as he held the door open for Mingyu. He didn't say a word on the way Mingyu had stumbled over his words, running over each other in their haste to get out, and he was immensely grateful for that.

Ducking his head low, Mingyu walked into Minghao's changing room. It wasn't anything particularly impressive, mainly just a chaos of clothing spread on whatever surfaces were available, and a gym bag thrown carelessly by the door, almost causing Mingyu to trip over and fall.

Minghao seemed to become aware at the same time as Mingyu of the state the room was in, grimacing as he carefully put the flowers down by the mirror and smoothing his hands over the petals one last time before turning towards Mingyu.

"Forgive the mess, I was not expecting visitors," he mumbled, trying to inconspicuously pick up some of the stuff that had found his way to the floor.

"Don't worry about it," Mingyu replied, a small smile finding his way to his lips. He felt some of the tension bleed out from his shoulders, making it easier to look at Minghao, even if he still felt the temptation to pinch himself, make sure he wasn't dreaming. "I shouldn't have shown up unannounced, that was rude of me."

Pursing his lips, Minghao shook his head even before Mingyu had finished speaking.

"No, it was a wonderful surprise," he replied, words firm and holding no room for misunderstanding. Then, he hesitated, eyes darting away from Mingyu before returning to him. He chewed on his lower lip, clearly pondering something. “I’ve— I was really hoping we'd meet one day, so this was not rude, it... It was quite the opposite, I... What am I saying?" He murmured to himself, running an exasperated hand through his hair before he squared up his shoulders and looking Mingyu straight in the eye. "I really wanted to meet you but I didn't know how to bring it up so please, don't apologize for being here, I was not bothered by it at all."

As unexpected as they were, hearing those words being spoken aloud by Minghao himself, made Mingyu's heart beat a wild rhythm in his chest, so fast and loud it was a miracle Minghao couldn't hear it from where he was standing, merely an arm's distance from Mingyu.

Mingyu's blood rushed to his cheeks, a blush spreading all throughout his face and neck, spreading up towards his ears and the root of his hair, and he'd dare say it run lower too, brushing his collarbones. It made it impossible for him to stop smiling, a grin that had started small and had grown without Mingyu's noticing until it was so wide it threatened to split his face in two. 

He let out a small laugh, startled, and Minghao seemed surprised at that, before he seemed to notice the sincerity in it, and smiled, too, a smile that was much smaller than Mingyu's, but as delighted.

"I really wanted to meet you too," Mingyu admitted, feeling like it was only fair. "I wasn't sure you'd like me to appear unannounced, but Jun dragged me here and told me not to worry.”

"God, I'm not even surprised it was Jun," Minghao groaned, closing his eyes. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry," Mingyu laughed. "I'll admit I was..., surprised," he finally said after some brief hesitation, "but he seemed nice, and my friend Wonwoo told me to trust him so..."

"I guess I'll have to thank Jun for that, huh," Minghao replied, before letting out another pained groan. "He'll never let me hear the end of that, he'll be insufferable," he added as he rolled his eyes. 

The obvious fondness in his voice betrayed his pretended annoyance, though, and Mingyu felt his insides grow warm at the sight.

"Same here," he said. "My friends will never let me forget this, ever."

"Well, we do owe them for this, I guess it's only fair," Minghao shrugged, his words softer than before.

"I guess it is," Mingyu nodded. 

A blanket of silence fell over them then, one that was not born from the awkwardness of two people who don't know each other but rather one that is only born between those who feel comfortable enough not to need words to fill the silence between them. It might have been precisely because of that, that Mingyu realized with a jolt that he couldn't tell just how much time they had spent just staring at each other, and he guiltily looked down.

"Oh, shit, you still have to change and all that, I'm really sorry!"

"Don't worry about it, it was great finally getting to meet you," Minghao rushed to reply, shaking his head.

"Well, anyway, I'll leave you to it now. I guess your friends are waiting for you," he said, feeling torn even as he spoke.

Mingyu thought he saw the same hesitation he felt in Minghao's face even as he nodded, mood visibly dampening at that.

"Yeah," he replied. "We are going out in celebration, they are probably waiting for me already."

"Then I'd better get going," Mingyu buried his hands deep inside his pockets, offering a small smile to Minghao, hoping he'd been able to keep all of the sudden sadness that had hit him from showing on his face. "See you around, Minghao."

With that, he turned around on his heels, feeling equally parts happy and underwhelmed, before chastising himself for being too greedy. It had already been more than he'd ever expected for him to meet Minghao. 

Better not ask for too much, he guessed.

"Wait!" Minghao's voice was enough to root him to place. Turning his head to look at him over his shoulder, Mingyu waited patiently, wondering at the sudden nervousness on Minghao's face. "Would you like to come have dinner?" Minghao was a bit out of breath when he finished his question, as if he'd said it in one go to avoid running out of courage before he was done. He hadn't looked at Mingyu as he spoke, but he did once the question was out in the open, hesitation clear in his eyes. "Tonight, with me, and my friends and yours too if you want to," he added before Mingyu could say anything.

"Of course," he replied, struggling to keep his smile from faltering. "I'll have to talk to them, but I'm sure they will say yes."

"That's great, then," Minghao replied, a hint of relief mixed with something akin to, disappointment?, in his eyes.

"I'll let you know what they say as soon as I ask them," Mingyu waved his phone in the air, before burying his hands in his pockets, hoping they weren't shaking as badly as he feared they were.

Not sure of how much longer he'd be able to maintain his façade from slipping, Mingyu turned around to leave, and stopped.

He thought of Jun's words, of Wonwoo and Jihoon's looks all throughout the past week, and of himself and Minghao, the disappointment he thought he had spied in the other's eyes before he'd hidden it away, and realized he couldn't yet leave.

"Mingyu?" Minghao asked when he realized Mingyu hadn't moved from his previous spot. "Is everything okay?"

"No. I mean, yes, but no," Mingyu replied, then groaned. Rubbing his face, he turned to face Minghao once again. "I'd love to go out with you and your friends tonight, and I'm sure my friends would like that too but I'd also want to go to have dinner with you sometime. Alone, preferably. So, what I mean to say," up until that point, Mingyu had kept his eyes resolutely away from Minghao, but he was unable to continue to do so, and made the mistake to peek at him to gauge his reaction. Minghao's smile stole the breath from his lungs, making him lose track, "so... Uh, go out with me?” Mingyu had meant it as a question, but his voice had quieted down as he spoke, suddenly intimidated by the light in Minghao’s eyes, and the end of his sentence had hovered awkwardly, softening the question into a tentative suggestion.

Biting on his bottom lip, Minghao looked away for a second, turning his face to the side. The fondness in his face and smile was still obvious when he returned his full attention to Mingyu, a small spark of mischief dancing in his eyes as he bridged the distance between them, bumping his shoulder against Mingyu’s.

“Thought you’d never ask,” he replied.

His smile was sweet, his reply unexpected, and Mingyu almost fainted then and there when he felt warm fingers searching his, their hands hanging between their bodies. 

It didn’t take him long to recover, not when Minghao looked up, a silent question in his eyes, and Mingyu knew he’d untangle their fingers and pretend nothing had happened if Mingyu so asked.

Smiling brightly, heart beating loudly in his chest, Mingyu squeezed Minghao’s hand, felt his smile grow even wider when Minghao squeezed back.

“Let’s go?” Minghao offered, and Mingyu could do nothing but agree, feeling so happy he might just burst.

During the night, not even the teasing glances of his friends could dampen his mood, not when Minghao sat right beside him, refusing to let go even for a second.

**Author's Note:**

> If you didn't know who this was by the summary/tags/the word count, I'm pretty sure this last bit really gave me away, but I couldn't help myself.  
> This fic developed a life of its own and I couldn't control it, but I hope it's been something you've enjoyed ^^
> 
> I couldn't fit in everything in the fic (I'm sorry to the Nu'est members, but I couldn't find a suitable place to include them) but no angst for you Kath because we both know why you included that in your do nots hehe  
> And to Kath and the rest of oguogu, I love you guys, never gonna stop loving you guys, and I feel so lucky to be your friend, you can't even imagine it. I love you guys so much <3333333  
> (Last but not least, thanks to * and * for putting up with my yelling at 2am, I adore you <33)  
> Merry Christmas to you all and remember, comments and kudos warm my heart!


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